Stress and achievement in elementary school students: The mediating role of growth mindset

Abstract

The achievement gap is one of the most pernicious education problems in the United States, and stress has a negative impact on achievement. Growth mindset may explain how stress impacts achievement. This study used a short-term longitudinal design (n = 251; 36% DLL) to evaluate growth mindset as a mediator of the negative impact of stress on literacy achievement in 3rd - 5th grade students. Results confirmed that perceived stress was negative related to achievement. The present study also explored whether mediation model results differ between dual-language learning (DLL) and English-native students. Although growth mindset did not act as a mediator in the full sample, growth-minded attributions mediated the negative effect of stress on achievement for non-DLL students only. These results hold implications for understanding how to help students with the consequences of stress on their mindsets and academic performance.